Education: Ph.D., 1992 — Harvard B.S., 1987 — Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The overall theme of our laboratory’s research is to study proteins at the molecular level using biochemical analyses alongside powerful tools such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This includes not only structure determination, but also biological assays of proteins and their mutants in order to understand the structural underpinnings of biological function. We often work with members of the chemokine family of proteins, which are inflammatory proteins, several of which have been shown to block infection by HIV-1, making an analysis of their action crucial for AIDS research.

“Structural insights into the interaction between a potent anti-inflammatory protein, vCCI and the human CC chemokine, Eotaxin-1” Nai-wei Kuo, Yong-Guang Gao, Megan s. Schill, Nancy Isern, Cynthia M. Dupurerur, and Patricia J. LiWang J. Biol Chem 289, 6592-6603 (2014). Link “A comparison of 5P12-vMIP-II and vMIP-II as HIV-1 entry inhibitors” Jie Xue, Nai-wei Kuo, Megan Schill, and Patricia J. LiWang Biochemistry and Physiology S2.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064132 (2013). Link “The griffithsin dimer is required for high potency inhibition of HIV-1: Evidence for manipulation of the structure of gp120 as part of the griffithsin dimer mechanism” Jie Xue, Bart Hoorelbeke, Ioannis Kagiampakis, Borries Demeler, Jan Balzarini, and Patricia J. LiWang Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 57:8, 3976–3989 (2013). Link “HIV-1 envelope trimer has similar binding characteristics for carbohydrate-binding agents as monomeric gp120” Bart Hoorelbeke, Thijs van Montfort, Jie Xue, Patricia J. LiWang, Haruo Tanaka, Yasuhiro Igarashi, Els J.M. Vandamme, Rogier Sanders, and Jan Balzarini FEBS Letters 587, 860-866 (2013). Link “Role of the carbohydrate-binding sites of griffithsin in the prevention of DC-SIGN-mediated capture and transmission of HIV-1” Bart Hoorelbeke, Jie Xue, Patricia J. LiWang , and Jan Balzarini PLoS ONE 8(5): e64132. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064132 (2013). Link “A comparison of 5P12-vMIP-II and vMIP-II as HIV-1 entry inhibitors” Jie Xue, Nai-Wei Kuo, Megan Schill, and Patricia J. LiWang Biochemistry and Physiology S2. doi:10.4172/2168-9652.S2-005 (2013). Link